The Latest Gossip
by Morbid Original
Summary: [IchiRuki] Ichigo Kurosaki is sooo gorgeous, Mahana said boisterously one day in the courtyard. [Oneshot][Drabble]


Just a short piece I drabbled up off the top of my head. Like my Naruto fic "Beyond Words", it just came to me as I wrote - only it actually became something.  
I reference a lot of the minor characters from the high school in this, so if any of you are unfamiliar with the names, this should clear it up:  
en. characters#Karakura High School (copy and paste with http://www.).

Enjoy.

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The Latest Gossip

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"Ichigo Kurosaki is sooo _gorgeous_," Mahana said boisterously one day in the courtyard.

Tatsuki nearly choked on her juice, eyes widening with incredulity.

"Are you kidding me?!" she demanded.

"Well, it's not like you would notice. You've known him all your life and you never think about that stuff anyway," Mahana said dismissively.

Tatsuki scoffed, crossing her arms. "Oh, really."

The brunette ignored her. "But the rest of you - don't tell me you don't see it," she said, looking around at each of the girls circled beside her.

"Well..." Michiru started, gaze lowered uncertainly, "...I guess he's alright-looking...but his face is too scary. I could never look at him for more than a few seconds without flinching."

"His body, though," Ryou said, making the others gape at her voluntary input on such a subject. "He's in really good shape, even I'll admit to that."

The others nodded, Tatsuki giving a reluctant sigh.

"Personally, I don't see the fascination," Chizuru said, shrugging.

"Duh," Michiru muttered, so only Mahana could hear.

Mahana smirked.

"What about you, Orihime? You _must_ see something in him. You hang around him a lot," she said, leaning towards the red-haired girl curiously.

Orihime blushed, averting her eyes from her friend's gaze.

"W-well, he is, um...Kurosaki-kun _is_ very...handsome," she said quietly, trailing off. This only made Mahana's smile broaden.

"And you would totally go out with him, right?" she pressed, eyes shining.

"Pfft, please," Ryou scoffed, turning their attention to her again. "There's no way Ichigo would ask one of us out - or any of the other girls in school, for that matter."

Unnoticed by all but Tatsuki, Orihime's shy smile vanished, and she lowered her eyes again.

Unfazed, Ryou continued. "We all know who he's got his eye on."

"Who?" Michiru asked, eyes huge with curiosity.

"You haven't noticed?!" Mahana said incredulously. "He only shows up with her every morning, walks home with her every night, and spends most of his free time during the day with her - not to mention lunch, breaks, and probably weekends-"

"You've seen them on weekends?" Ryou asked, cutting across her.

Mahana nodded. "I've seen them at restaurants, movies-"

"But with a whole group of friends, right?"

She shook her head, grinning in the light of the new gossip. "Not always. Most of the time it's just the two of them, talking alone, sitting together, _very_ closely-"

"WHO?" Michiru asked again, anxiously staring from Ryou to Mahana as her interest in the matter grew.

Excitedly, Mahana leaned towards the center of the group, eyes wandering over each of them.

"The one, the only, the incomparable-"

"Shh!" Tatsuki suddenly hissed, averting her eyes.

Mahana looked up then quickly lowered her gaze to her lunch, falling silent in feigned innocence, Ryou and the others doing the same.

"Good morning," the girl said as she approached the group, bento held loosely in her hand.

"Hi, Rukia, won't you join us?" Mahana said lightly, giving Michiru a meaningful glance.

Rukia sat down between her and Tatsuki, starting to open her lunch box, when a familiar voice called her name, making them all look up.

"Rukia!" Not far away, Ichigo Kurosaki stood slightly ahead of his male friends, standing out among the group. Like a leader, or just a completely separate entity. He motioned to her, and even across such a distance, the girls could see his eyes were obviously on her.

Rukia lowered her eyes briefly, then stood, muttering an "excuse me" before heading over to him. But not before they all caught the smile on her face.

"I don't believe it," Michiru began quietly, glancing at Mahana. _"Rukia Kuchiki?"_

Her friend nodded, looking very satisfied with her assumption.

"It's hard to imagine. Ichigo Kurosaki with such a sweet, quiet, mature girl."

"It sounds like _you're_ the one with a crush on her, Mahana," Tatsuki teased, making Chizuru laugh.

Mahana waved her off, chuckling.

"Whatever, I'm just stating the facts. She's almost nothing like Ichigo, except that they've both got that demanding, confident air about them..." She trailed off as she stared at the two of them, Ichigo with his hands in his pockets, staring down at the dark-haired girl standing inches away from touching him.

"...Somehow, she evens him out," Mahana said thoughtfully, cocking her head as she gazed at them. "He doesn't seem so imposing when she's with him."

"You're right," said Michiru, sounding somewhat amazed. "It's almost like...When he looks at her, his face doesn't even seem scary..."

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Buahaha, the end. Just a cute li'l randomnity (word?) that I find extremely amusing, seeing as how gossiping is how I spend a lot of my time...  
Kids, don't be mean and shallow, like me.  
Anyway. I know I kinda left off on Orihime there, but blah. This is just like a scene pulled straight out of everyday life, no immediate resolution, no closure, etc. Tis the way it's meant to be (dammit).

Hope you liked it.  
-Morbid Original-


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